The 45th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 17, 1822, during the fifth year of DeWitt Clinton's

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

of 1777, amended by the Constitutional Convention of 1801, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in the four senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole Assembly being renewed annually. In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1818, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the first Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor. State Senator

Gideon Granger Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 – December 31, 1822) was an early American politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and U.S. Representative Francis Granger. Early life Granger was born in Suffield, Connecticut ...

resigned in 1821, leaving a vacancy in the Western District. On March 13, 1821, the 44th New York State Legislature passed a bill to submit the question, whether a Constitutional Convention should be called, to the voters at the next State election in April 1821. In 1821, Erie County was split from Niagara County, but remained with Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara in one Assembly district. Livingston and Monroe counties were formed from parts of Genesee and Ontario counties, and were apportioned one seat each in the Assembly, taken from Ontario. At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican Party was split into two factions: the Clintonians (supporters of Gov. DeWitt Clinton) and the

Bucktails The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York State opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail worn in the ha ...

(led by

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

, and including the

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

organization in New York City). The Federalist Party was disbanding, the majority joined the Clintonians, a minority joined the Bucktails.

Elections

The State election was held from April 24 to 26, 1821. Abel Huntington (Southern D.), Abraham J. Hasbrouck (Middle D.), David C. Judson, Daniel Shipherd, John L. Viele (all three Eastern D.), Henry Seymour ( Western D.); and Assemblymen Abraham Gurnee (Southern D.), Archibald McIntyre (Middle D.) and Samuel M. Hopkins (Western D.) were also elected to the Senate. Huntington, Gurnee and Seymour were Bucktails, the other six Clintonians. At the same time, the question whether a Convention to amend the

should be called, was answered in the affirmative by the voters, and delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1821 were elected in June.

Sessions

The Constitutional Convention met from August 28 to November 10, 1821, and the new Constitution was adopted by the voters in January 1822. The Legislature met at the Old State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1822, and adjourned on April 17. Samuel B. Romaine (Buckt.) was elected Speaker with 74 votes against 44 for

George Huntington George Huntington (April 9, 1850 – March 3, 1916) was an American physician who contributed a classic clinical description of the disease that bears his name – Huntington's disease. Huntington described this condition in the first of only ...

(Clint.). Edward Livingston (Buckt.) was elected Clerk of the Assembly with the same vote against Sandford Cobb (Clint.). On April 12, the Legislature re-apportioned the Assembly districts. All multiple-county districts (except Hamilton and Montgomery) were dismembered, and every county became a district. The total number of assemblymen was increased from 126 to 128. On April 17, the Legislature enacted that future State elections be held on the first Monday in November and the two succeeding days.''Laws of the State of New York''
(1822, pg. 267)

State Senate

Districts

*The Southern District (6 seats) consisted of Dutchess, Kings, New York, Putnam,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties. *The Middle District (9 seats) consisted of Albany, Chenango, Columbia,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

counties. *The Eastern District (8 seats) consisted of Clinton,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, Montgomery, Rensselaer,

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties. *The Western District (9 seats) consisted of Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga,

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

, Cortland,

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...

, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Oswego,

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties. Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.

Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Abraham Gurnee, Archibald McIntyre and Samuel M. Hopkins changed from the Assembly to the Senate. Under the provisions of the new Constitution, all senators were legislated out of office at the end of 1822. The whole Senate was renewed at the State election in November 1822, the term of the new senators beginning on January 1, 1823.

Employees

*Clerk: John F. Bacon

State Assembly

Districts

* Albany County (4 seats) * Allegany and Steuben counties (2 seats) * Broome County (1 seat) * Cattaraugus,

and Niagara counties (2 seats) *

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Confed ...

(3 seats) * Chenango County (3 seats) * Clinton and Franklin counties (1 seat) * Columbia County (4 seats) * Cortland County (1 seat) * Delaware County (2 seats) * Dutchess County (5 seats) * Essex County (1 seat) * Genesee County (3 seats) * Greene County (2 seats) * Hamilton and Montgomery counties (5 seats) *

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

(3 seats) * Jefferson County (2 seats) * Kings County (1 seat) * Lewis County (1 seat) * Livingston County (1 seat) * Madison County (3 seats) * Monroe County (1 seat) *The City and County of New York (11 seats) * Oneida and Oswego counties (5 seats) *

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

(4 seats) * Ontario County (5 seats) * Orange County (4 seats) * Otsego County (5 seats) * Putnam County (1 seat) * Queens County (3 seats) *

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

(5 seats) *

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

(1 seat) * Rockland County (1 seat) * St. Lawrence County (1 seat) * Saratoga County (4 seats) * Schenectady County (2 seats) * Schoharie County (3 seats) * Seneca County (2 seats) * Suffolk County (3 seats) * Sullivan and

counties (4 seats) * Tioga County (1 seat) * Tompkins County (2 seats) * Warren and Washington counties (5 seats) *

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

(3 seats) Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.

Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.

Employees

*Clerk: Edward Livingston *Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry Fryer *Doorkeeper: James Myers *Assistant Doorkeeper: William Campbell

Notes

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) ee pg. 108f for Senate districts; pg. 124 for senators; pg. 148f for Assembly districts; pg. 198f for assemblymen; pg. 56ff for Constitutional conventionbr>''The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840''
by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 1, H. & E. Phinney, Cooperstown, 1846; page 571)
''The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840''
by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 2, Phinney & Co., Buffalo, 1850; pg. 85 to 97)
Election result Assembly, Albany Co.
at project "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi, hosted by

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...